** CHINESE EXPERIENCES **
** DRIVING IN CHINA **
This is the 4 Nov 2001 Edition of
this page.
Drivers seem to be a rule unto themselves in China. This Annex only
gives a brief account of 'stupidities' that I personally witnessed. They
were not, in all probability, stupid to the Chinese - as the techniques
(or should I say 'behaviours') were common to all drivers, amateur or
professional!!
Our first encounter with the 'practices' was under the 'expert with 30
years driving experience' (according to our Beijing guide) coach-driver
from the airport outside Beijing.
Being fair to him, they were not used to rain!! (But in 30years??) In had
been raining in Beijing as we had touched-down; the coach-windows showed this,
not only by the exterior rain but with the interior condensation!
Anyhow, he sped off into the night inside and outside the airport, the horn
blazing its note at every conceivable opportunity. It became clear that his
windscreen wipers were nor functionning correctly, - even at all. There appeared
to be exterior grease-films (produced by traffic?) and internal polish (?) on the windows
(produced by an over-zealous cleaner?). En-route to downtown Beijing, the guide felt
a responsibility to internally attempt to clean, or clear, the driver's side of the
front windows. This did not include the part of the screen needed to view the
rear-view mirror!! Early during this trip, he asked if there were any engineers onboard
to help service this 'crummy Japanese coach'!!
At the time we didn't yet realise that it was probably forbidden to use the mirror - as
their practices seemed to indicate that by their inconsiderate driving.
We DID pull into a sort of layby - where both guys tried to improve essential visibility
for the driver. Every cleaning session (they were only a fraction of a minute apart!) was
followed by some very 'hairy' and 'scary'(!!) motoring through the 'blinding' conditions,
horn a-blazing, marginally missing cars and motorised rickshaws WITHOUT LIGHTS.
This very long drive seemed to be a life time and we weren't even finished yet!
I can only comment on the 'events' that I personally witnessed, but it was clear from the
screams, guffaws, woows, etc, further back in our vehicle - that the fear was a communally
shared experience.
Let me be very clear, from here on, that it wasn't just OUR driver causing our mutual fears -
but the WHOLE of the Chinese (?) population that was on our road. Perhaps it wasn't OUR
road. Everyone appears to believe that they, alone, are entitled to any bit of road or pavement
that they find first!!
Unlike most of Europe, pedestrians don't appear to have priority on either pavements or
pedestrian crossings!! Evidently, that is why everyone is so noisy with their 'hooters' (horns).
Even on this post-dusk journey, it became obvious that driving on either the left OR right
was optional. Scary for us tender Brits!!
As our tour proceeded, for example to the Great Wall, in the mornings it appeared to be more
European in character, people and vehicles keeping to their own sides of the roads. In the
afternoons, however, the rules changed as the shortages of road-space became more pronounced.
It had seemed in the mornings that the spare lanes on each side were for pedestrians and rickshaws,
but the afternoons were different. Not only were pedestrians and rickshaws using EITHER spare carriageway
to go in any direction, - but cars and buses and lorries, too, were pitching their claims in kamikasi
endeavours at high speed (and blindness) with no regard to other road (and pavement) users!!
Our own driver, having 'missed his exit' on a dual carriageway, boldly turned round in a handy sidetrack
and then made his way back (against a fair measure of oncoming traffic) in the wrong carriageway,
to his required exit-point. So much for the 'open roads' in the countryside.
In towns it was even 'hairier', with ALL LANES being available (legally or otherwise!) for ALL vehicles,
in ANY direction. Very aggressive use of the HORNS was (if not essential) highly practised. No major
accident was seen - but very many near-misses were witnessed, with rickshaw drivers abandoning their
craft at short-notice, cyclists narrowly avoiding each other on courses either 90 degrees or 180 degrees
apart!! One thing to be said in their favour was that ALL seemed to have lightning-fast reactions! Maybe
Chinese evolution has eliminated those with insufficiently fast reactions!!!
......... I'm glad that I was only a passenger - rather than PARTICIPANT in this 'Sport'(?).........
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